Lips of an Angel
by Avasinclair123
Summary: Rhett has remarried, but what happens when the Emerald of Tara crosses his path again?
1. Prologue

Prologue

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**A/N: There seems to be some confusion about this story, Rhett will be married in the next chapter, because it'll take place four years after this current chapter**. **There may be some inconsistencies...if there are, please point them out. :D**

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"Scarlett what are you doing here?" Rhett Butler was shocked to see his ex wife.

Their marriage settled in divorce. Rhett left her half of his fortune to get her to sign the papers making it official. It was a bitter time for Scarlett, but she could see how miserable Rhett was every time he came to Atlanta. Her reputation was already in shreds and the Old Guard still allowed Wade and Ella to play with their grandchildren, at their homes with Scarlett absent. Scarlett allowed it, only to keep her remaining children from being as miserable as she was. She would leave Atlanta were it not for Aunt Pitty crying at the thought, since India had moved out and Scarlett was back in Aunt Pitty's house. Wade and Ella, when school was in session, resided in private institutions in Charleston and Fayettville respectfully. The other reason keeping her in Atlanta was Ashley.

Every time she even thought about leaving, the promise that she made to Melly floated to the front of her mind. No, she couldn't leave, not while Ashley's mills were barely sustaining themselves and Beau was in danger of attending a Yankee school because Ashley could not afford the tuition at a southern school, and because he was too proud to take her money. She needed to come up with a plan to get Ashley off her back. That's how she ended up at her ex husbands house in Charleston.

"I need a favor." she admitted.

"More money?" he asked with a jeer and allowed her to enter the house. "Should we go to the office so I can get the bank notes? You know, Scarlett, seeing as we aren't married I really owe you nothing."

"Oh hush!" she said, wincing as the words stabbed at her heart, "I need you to sell me the land that the house is built on. I want to tear it down."

"What if I just gave the orders myself."

"That won't work, you see I'm planning to build a new house there for A-Aunt Pitty and she won't take it if...well you know" she finished lamely.

"You mean you're going to build a house for Ashley on my property and he won't take it knowing that it would be legally mine. Scarlett, you don't have to lie to me, I could care less about your affairs with the Honorable Ashley Wilkes, as I stated before, we are no longer married, how much are you offering me for the property?"

She visibly winced again but ignored the questioning look from Rhett, "How much do you want for it?"

"Well nothing that you could afford, even with half my fortune, but I suppose we could come to an...agreement."

"An agreement..." she bit her lip, did he still want her?

"Yes, an agreement. If I give you the property back, you'll stop finding me." he told her.

His words struck a blow. Tears sprang up in her emerald eyes. She fumbled in the pocket of her dress for a handkerchief but couldn't find it. She swiped at the tears angrily when they started flowing. Rhett sighed and handed her one of his own.

"Scarlett really, my words shouldn't keep wounding you. It's over, as over as something that never really started in the first place could be. I've -" his words were cut off by a female voice.

"Rhett, who are you talking to?"

A petite female walked into view. She was shorter than Scarlett with fine blonde hair. Her blue eyes shone curiously at the woman before her. The girl, who held her self confidently before entering the room, slumped a fraction of an inch when she eyed Scarlett.

"Rhett, who is this?" her voice was as small as her stature, it quickly irritated Scarlett.

"My dear, this is Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy B-" he paused and drew a breath, "Butler."

"Butler, are you related to Rhett?" the tiny woman asked.

"Scarlett, this is Abigail, an acquaintance of mine."

"An acquaintance, really Rhett." Abigail laughed, her first question forgotten, "We've known each other since we were children."

"You must not know him that well if you don't know who I am" Scarlett said in a teasing tone. To Abigail, it was harmless, but Rhett knew better. An amused smile played on his face, "I'm his ex wife."

"Oh, you're that Scarlett," Abigail's voice lost some of it's warmth.

"So you have talked about me." Scarlett jibed at Rhett.

"I haven't needed to, my pet, you're reputation precedes you everywhere you go."

"Just like yours does."

Rhett was shocked at how quick her tongue had become. At the end of their marriage, before Scarlett let him have his divorce, she was as soft spoken as Melanie, in a last-ditch effort to win him back. It was pleasant to Rhett, after living with her rough tongue for years, but he had to admit that he missed the Spitfire that she was when he met her. He admitted to himself that he could have tolerated her infatuation with Ashley better had the war not hardened her. Two previous marriages also turned the carefree child into a bitter angry adult. She wasn't the virginal young lady that would endure sleeping next to him, and with him, even if she didn't love him. No, too many things happened in her life, too many personal wars were fought before Rhett got her. Too much bitterness that misplaced love that his money and affection couldn't repair. He got a broken, battered version of her old self, and, it ashamed him to say, he broke her further. The soft spoken almost-lady that greeted him at the train depot was proof of how broken she was. Especially when it became apparent that acting like Melly wasn't going to help her win his affections back, she gave up. She surrendered the final battle and had nothing else to fight for. Her parents were dead, her reputation in shred, the Cause was over, her life no longer hung in the balance, neither did her financial stability, and her marriage was beyond repair. The number of wars she won outweighed those she lost, but the final war, it was over.

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The day she agreed to sign the papers was at the forefront of Rhett's mind as he saw Scarlett to the carriage that would take her back to the hotel she was staying at. It was summer, two years after Bonnie had died and they were visiting the grave site. Rhett got himself drunk at Belle's the night before and woke up drinking before going over to the house. Scarlett was at the top of the staircase, wearing a dark green dress that darkened her eyes emerald. Her hair was piled on her head under a green hat. A frown was deeply embedded on her face when she watched her husband stumble in reeking of cheap perfume.

"If you can't respect me enough to stay home when you're here, at least respectful to Bonnie!" she snapped when she saw him.

Rhett could only laugh, "There's the Scarlett I've been waiting for, for the past two years." he told her, causing the frown to grow deeper.

"There isn't time for you to bathe so you'll just have to go like that." she told him and started making her way down the stairs. Her foot slipped on a ball that was laying forgotten on the stair. She gripped the banister but still fell backwards and slid the rest of the way down.

"Scarlett!" Rhett shouted so loud that her ears rang.

"I'm alright Rhett, just help me up" she muttered and tried to stand, he was at her side instantly and lifted her up, setting her on her feet he prodded at her body, checking for any injuries.

"Rhett, stop, I'm fine." she told him, already provoked to the point of explosion.

Rhett stopped what he was doing and pulled her against his chest, crushing and wrinkling her dress.

"What has gotten into you!" She grumbled, pushing away from him, "someone would think that I tumbled down the way you're going on..." her voice trailed off and she looked up at him, her emerald eyes meeting his black ones.

She watched the emotions play on his face, concern, relief, confusion, sadness, something else, and finally nothing. He pushed her away and shook his head, "Forgive me, my pet, I may have drank too much Whiskey before coming over." he said, the coolness back in his voice. "Shall we?"

Later that night she went down for her nightly Brandy and saw him sitting at the table with his head in his hands.

"Is it really that hard for you to be here?" she asked softly.

"There are memories everywhere." he wasn't sure if he was answering her or talking to herself.

"Would it matter, if we left this house, moved out of Atlanta, started over..."

"There is no starting over Scarlett. There is too much between us."

She only sighed, tired of pressing it, tired of fighting a losing war, tired of the constant rejection. "I'll sign the papers" she whispered.

He looked up, unsure if he heard her, "You'll what?"

"I'll sign the divorce papers..."

"You must not love me as much as you claim Mrs. Butler, to give in after only two years." he jeered.

"Is there a point in torturing us both? If I fight for two more years, will it make a difference? Will we finally be able to be happy and start anew, or will we have just spent four years in misery?"

"When did you grow up Scarlett?" he asked, being sincere.

"After Melly died, I realized that one of my only friends was gone, then you left and in the same night I lost the other and I was truly alone."

"You had Ashley."

She only shook her head, "That night, I lost a pretend lover and gained another child, then I lost the only real love I had." she sighed, "I'll sign the papers."

"I'll have them tomorrow."

She turned to go but he stopped her, "Why are you giving up?" he wanted to know, "You've always been a fighter."

"Fighting is all we've done since we met, it's time for a peaceful approach. Maybe if I do this, you'll realize that I really do love you, after all, I'm doing this to make you happy." her voice broke and she ran out the room and up the stairs. He could hear her door slam and contemplated following her, but decided against it, deciding that it would make it harder on himself to go up there and comfort her while denying the truth and lying through his teeth about not loving her.

* * *

"So that was you're ex wife?" Abigail's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Yes, the spitfire of Atlanta and the belle of Clayton County, the Emerald of Tara herself."

"Why didn't you tell her?" Abigail looked hurt.

"Because she came on business about the home that she lives in and that I own. I sold it to her for three hundred dollars." he couldn't help but smile at the sum, Scarlett had blushed when he mentioned the price, the same amount she had gone to him for, in exchange for her body.

"Is it worth that?"

"It's worth much more, but it's a favor to her. Anyway, she came on business so it wasn't the place to tell her that I'm getting remarried."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, I know, it's a shock that Rhett got married again. **

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Four years after selling the Atlanta house, and two years after marrying Abigail, Rhett crossed paths with Scarlett again. It happened by accident, Scarlett was visiting Wade at his school in Charleston, where she got invited to a dinner and ball. Knowing that she had only brought mourning clothes, she was still mourning for Melanie and Bonnie even after all those years, and she was mourning for Mammy, who had just died the month before, Scarlett decided to go dress shopping. She walked into a small shoppe that she stumbled upon by accident. The shoppe was owned by a prestigious Charleston family, but the girl in charge was a young scared looking girl that looked no older than Ella.

"How can I help you miss?" The girl asked in an Irish accent that made Scarlett smile in spite of herself.

"Do you have anything premade in green?" she asked.

"Green miss? No, the mistress of the shoppe only likes subdued colors. Navy's and blacks. Green is custom made for the young belles."

"What kind of shop doesn't carry a wide range of colors?" she snapped.

The door was open to coax in the inviting breeze that came from the ocean. Rhett and his young wife, Abigail, were taking a stroll down the street when Rhett heard a familiar voice.

_What is she doing in Charleston? _Rhett wondered to himself, he knew that Wade attended school there, perhaps she was visiting him. After suggesting to Abby that she go look in the store, they entered, the poor young girl looked scared and faint coming up against Scarlett.

"How much for a rush order?" Scarlett was asking.

"Fifteen miss." The girl's voice shook.

Scarlett knew she didn't have enough on her, not if she wanted to go shopping later. Uncle Henry never let her carry a lot of money with her when she traveled. News of railroad hijackings were always flying about, going over Scarlett's head.

"Put it on our tab" Came a familiar drawl.

Scarlett turned to see an amused Rhett, and a not-so-amused Abigail next to him.

"Don't be silly Rhett, I'll just wear something that I brought."

"They must not be green if you are in here. Pray tell, Scarlett, who are you still in mourning for? It's been so long since...Mrs. Wilkes died."

"Mammy died last month, and I still mourn for Melly and Bonnie." her voice broke on Bonnie's name. It was still hard to talk about her, think about her, and even go into her bedroom.

"I'm sorry, I knew how much Mammy meant to you." he nodded solemnly.

"Thank you." she whispered, "I did bring something else, but it's..."

"Outdated or inappropriate?"

"I never wear anything outdated Captain Butler." she fell into this familiar pattern with him.

"Of course not, Mrs...Miss...what do you go by now?"

"O'Hara, the old cats didn't like it. Mrs. Merriweather herself called on me to tell me how it was disrespectful to Charles and Frank, my 'beloved husbands that that came before that misguided marriage that mother would not have approved of.'" she rolled her eyes, "I told her it was silly to keep their last names as I was neither a Hamilton nor a Kennedy anymore, just like I wasn't a Butler. The old cat ran to Aunt Pitty who was crying saying how much I hurt her, but she knew that I loved Charles and Frank, and now that Melly was dead..." she sighed and rubbed her temples.

"So I suppose you told her that you didn't love either of your previous marriages?" he jeered.

"Well, no. I couldn't do that to Pitty, I'm not heartless, although one listening to you would think otherwise, but the next time I saw Mrs. Merriweather I told her to mind her own business and never to set foot near my home again!"

Rhett threw his head back and laughed, "Did you throw a vase at her?"

"I thought you were going to forget that!"

"No, my pet, that is my favorite memory of you."

Abigail frowned at the name Rhett called Scarlett, he never gave her any kind of pet name or called her his anything. She tugged on his sleeve, "Come along Rhett, we need to finish our walk."

"Right, put the dress on our tab." he told the girl running the store, who had been sitting in silent bewilderment the entire time.

"Rhett no." Scarlett started to protest.

"I won't have you looking anything less than pretty at the ball tonight Scarlett, don't let her talk you out of it." he addressed the girl again, "green, the darkest green you can."

"Dark green." Scarlett made a face.

"It makes your eyes emerald, and add in a green hat with a green feather."

It was Scarlett's turn to laugh, "Rhett Butler how you do run on, now go before you buy me a new corset too."

Abigail's face burned red at the ease Scarlett had talking to her ex husband about such things. Rhett never discussed anything with her as he seemed to do with Scarlett, the younger woman felt jealous of her husband's ex wife. The Rhett she knew was an old man, ready to settle down and showing his age. The Rhett she saw at the store looked unlike anyone she ever encountered before. He looked alive, youthful. He laughed, really laughed, how could an ex wife make a man laugh that much, unless...unless he stilled loved her. Abigail contemplated it and watched his face as he continued discussing fabrics and colors with Scarlett and the girl in the shoppe. The price for everything was now twenty, but it didn't faze him. Rhett, who rolled his eyes every time Abigail asked for a pet. He bought it for her, but he teased her to tears about it all the same. When she mentioned wanting a horse, he asked if she knew how to ride. He bought it for her, and taught her how to ride like a man, inappropriate, but fun nonetheless. When she mentioned wanting to learn how to jump, he sold the lively horse and bought her an older mare that didn't even want to canter. When she questioned him, he just left the house and didn't return for weeks, in reality he went to Atlanta and was staying at Belle's.

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Later that night, Rhett and Abigail attended the local dinner and ball. The couple walked in, Rhett in a suit and Abigail in an elegant brown dress that caused her eyes and hair to stand out, as well as the paleness of her skin. Young belles frowned when they saw her, knowing that even in the colors of matrimony, she was indeed beautiful. The soft lines of her face contrasted perfectly with the hardness that was Rhett Butler. They had all heard the rumors about Captain Butler, the womanizing divorcee that married Charleston's angel. Matrons were wary about the match, knowing that Captain Butler had a mistress back in Atlanta, as well as a living ex wife. The divorced caused such a scandal that the old ladies of Charleston had pity for Scarlett, believing that Rhett had an open adulterous affair during their marriage. Perhaps she caught him in their martial bed with another woman. The opposite of Atlanta's response, Atlanta forever would blame Scarlett and Ashely Wilkes for the divorce. Scarlett, who was openly infatuated with Ashely, and Ashley who never stopped her advances. Atlanta turned it's nose up at the pair, waiting for them to marry, if only to stifle the gossip about the made-up affair they were having in private.

Abigail was quickly pulled into the center of attention and Rhett never left her side. His expression was unreadable, hiding the fact that he was bored stiff. He finally excused himself to have a cigar and some brandy. Settling himself in a chair around the back of the hall where the party was, he thought about his marriage and his life so far. It was true, he still didn't think of himself a marrying man, but he knew as soon as Scarlett mentioned that she still loved him, that he needed to marry right away, if only to keep her at bay. She knew that, even if she would pine over him, and perhaps kiss him, she would never try to sleep with a married man. Plus, it was time to settle down. All his life he longed for excitement, for a new adventure that he could venture on. He sailed the seas, gambled in California, got in brawls up and down the United States, ran a blockade, fought in a war, and married. Then he experienced death. A blow that hit him harder than anything else. Of course he had experienced death before, he had killed many men. Men, not women, certainly not little girls. After Bonnie died, his need for an adventure was over. He just wanted to settle, to live at peace for the rest of his days. That was his plan. Now that he got the peace he wanted so badly, it bored him. He enjoyed talking with Scarlett that afternoon. Her biting tongue, her ability to take his barbs and shoot a few back, Abigail couldn't go into a verbal battle with him. She would just give in and declare that such matters were too much for her feminine head, claim she had a headache, and retired to their room. She was a ninny. She also hinted at having children, the thought caused Rhett to pale, children with her. Children that would be subdued, perfect ladies and gentlemen. Children that would be seen and not heard. Children that wouldn't have a thought of their own. Children that would have blonde hair and blue eyes, or black hair and black eyes. Children that would never be as spirited as Bonnie.

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Rhett heard a carriage approach the hall from the front. He stood, put out his cigar, and walked back into the room, knowing Abigail would want him to be with her to greet the new person. He took her arm and returned the smile. The door opened, and his breath caught. Standing in the entrance was an inciting woman. Not beautiful, no, enticing, angelic (in features at least), scandalous, there were many other words to describe Scarlett O'Hara, but merely beautiful was not one of them, at least not to Rhett Butler. Her face, a sharp contrast of Irish and French was set in a smile that showed off the dimple and reached her sparkling emerald eyes. That smile widened when she spotted him in the crowd. She shrugged off her shawl to show off the brand new silk dark green dress that was just bought and made that morning. There were no ruffles, as many of the young girls had on their dresses, it was simple, but cut in such away to show off her sixteen inch waist, she had lost weight since the divorce, and cut to show her enticing curves. From his side he could hear Abigail's breath hitch.

"Isn't she supposed to be in mourning?" she muttered to Rhett as they approached her.

"It's a party, Scarlett never wears the colors of mourning at a party." he answered her.

"Scandalous, I could never do that, what is her reputation like?"

"With enough courage-" Rhett began.

"One could do without a reputation." Scarlett finished, showing that she had overheard the conversation.

"Eavesdroppers-" Abigail began.

"Hear the most interesting things, and it isn't eavesdropping if one is talking so loud my dear Abigail, you must learn to whisper." Scarlett smiled at the younger girl, "Rhett, how did you say you knew Abigail? She seems to be my age."

"Well, my pet, Abigail is younger than you, I believe she told you that she knew me since childhood, she of course meant her own. Even if I wasn't received by my own parents, hers were much more forgiving to my, erm, situation. Possibly because they weren't even in Charleston when my father banished me from his home. I became friends with her father and spent many a night in her family home."

Abigail frowned, what business was it of Scarlett's how she knew Rhett?

"I see, well Captain Butler, I better get a dance from you tonight, and you don't even have to bid for it either."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Scarlett you say the most endearing things" he tweeked her chin which caused the dimple in her cheek to deepen.

Later that night, after countless waltzes and numerous drinks, Rhett sent Abigail home early in their carriage and drove a very drunk Scarlett to her hotel in her rented carriage. She fell asleep slumped against his shoulder, which caused him to laugh and carry her inside to her room. Whispers followed him down the hall, Rhett Butler, the husband of Abigail Butler was carrying a mysterious woman to her room. No, he carried her into her room and shut the door! He wasn't even being discreet about it!

After laying Scarlett down, he realized how uncomfortable she must be in her corset and that dress. Sitting her up, he undid the buttons that ran down the back then pulled the dress off of her. He quickly untied her laces and loosened them. She took a deep breath and opened her emerald eyes.

"What're you doing? What happened?" she slurred.

"You got drunk at the party. Too much punch." he told her smirking, he himself supplied the brandy to her glass of punch every time she came near him, which was frequently.

"What are you doing?"

"Making you comfortable. Where is your nightgown?" he asked.

She pointed to the thing draped over the chair. He walked over to it and tossed it to her, then turned around.

"Really Rhett, it's not as if you've never seen me before." she said.

"I know, my dear, but I am a married man after all."

"I thought you weren't a marrying man?" she jeered.

"You've changed me, my pet, made me want companionship."

"But not mine." he could hear the tears in her voice.

"You're drunk Scarlett. I'll see you another day."

With that he left the hotel and returned home to his wife. His soft voiced wife that was not, and could never be Scarlett O'Hara.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews :D I have a playlist for this story...it's 57 songs long...PM me if you want it xD**

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_I remember laughing on that river's edge._

_Trying to get you to jump with me, trying to get you to fall for me._

_And your trembling heart it beats so fast,_

_Holding hand you promised me, holding hands we counted to three._

_And I felt your slipping fingers, and saw you change your mind,_

_If I hadn't dragged you in with me, you would have made me dive without you._

_They sent you all the way from Hollywood_

_And maybe that Dublin Sky was changing you_

_It put diamonds in your eyes_

_I always thought we were gonna make it through, but I wanted to hear it first from you._

_How many days am I gonna regret you?_

_How many nights 'till I forget you?_

_Have I been wasting all those years held down by these tears._

_How many dreams have I left deserted_

_How many hopes have been diverted_

_Have I been buried in the dirt held down by this hurt_

_How many lows did I let you hijack?_

_How many ways can I study the playback?_

_How did I end lyin' up here crying underneath the Dublin Sky?_

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In the months after the ball, Scarlett eventually returned to Atlanta. It was miserable. Pitty wasn't talking to her, the Old Guard shunned her, she was the most hated figure in Atlanta, ladies would rather say hello to Belle Watling or a Yankee before they acknowledged Scarlett. After a month in Atlanta, Scarlett decided to move to Charleston, at least polite society took her side in the divorce scandal.

Scarlett could was repeatedly seen at the Butler residence, much to the chagrin of Abigail. The woman was jealous of Scarlett. Scarlett, who carried herself in such a way that intimidated most matrons. Scarlett, with her quick tongue that would amuse Rhett for hours. The old people learned quickly not to like her, but they respected her. Especially when they heard of her conduct during the war, all she had to do to keep her family home. Atlanta may think that she was unwomanly, but Charleston, even in it's traditional ways, couldn't help but respect a woman that would do so much to preserve her inheritance. What did Atlanta know about inheritance, they had only been a city for one generation, they knew nothing of being so deeply rooted in a place, that nothing and no body could get one to abandon it. In fact, Atlanta, or at least the good people of Atlanta, abandoned the town they claimed to cling to. Did they not flee to Macon or even to Charleston? Charleston society stayed put. Even when Sherman was burning Charleston to the ground, good people moved where they needed to, but they didn't abandon their city by the sea, they couldn't.

Rhett would smile to himself every time Scarlett left. She was the life he craved again. Somehow in her heartache the cold Scarlett was shed and replaced by this new, or rather old Scarlett of the days before the war. She was the jewel of Tara again, or, as Rhett called her, The Emerald of Tara. Rhett found himself watching her again, as he did the first days of their marriage. He watched the way her skirts swayed when she walked, he watched the way her chin never dropped when a stinging blow came from his own mouth. He watched how her earbobs danced and how her dimple deepened when she smiled. He watched her eyes sparkle at a joke, and how they snapped when he coaxed anger out of her. While he watched his ex wife, his current wife was watching him.

Abigail grew more and more jealous of Scarlett. She watched Rhett fall in love with his ex wife again, and it hurt her more than any pain she felt before. Scarlett seemed oblivious, or she didn't care. One night after Scarlett had coaxed Rhett to take them driving in the buggy, Abigail decided to have a conversation with her husband.

"Rhett, I don't want her coming here." Abigail said bluntly.

"And pray why not Mrs. Butler?" Rhett's voice sounded dangerous, as it always did when Scarlett would mention Ashley, of course, Abigail didn't know this.

"Because, I see the way you look at her, you're falling in love with her and I don't like it." she snapped, losing her soft words for the first time in their marriage.

"Abigail, who I do and do not see is my business, you knew of my reputation before you married me, so why should this come as a shock to you?"

"You mean...you would have an affair with her, while married to me?" Abigail's voice shook.

"I had an affair with Belle while married to her." Rhett said in an offhand way, "It amazes me that this comes as a shock to you, haven't you been listening to the matrons of this god forsaken town?"

"Well yes, but I thought that was just idle gossip."

"Well it isn't, I own Belle's establishment and I stay there whenever I visit Atlanta, but believe me when I say, Abigail, that I haven't had an affair while married to you yet. I've been faithful to you."

Abigail's eyes were full of tears but she rolled over and fell asleep, or rather, pretended to be asleep.

The next morning, Abigail awoke early and found that Rhett was not present in their room. She walked around the house and could not find him anywhere.

At some point during the night, Rhett left the house. He could not bear to be in the same room with her anymore. He didn't love her, and he was fooling himself if he thought that he did or would be able to. She was nothing like him. She didn't understand the freedom that he wanted, she was too tightly woven by societies bounds that she would never break free. She had no courage. Abigail would always blush at the things he said, their conversation was very boring, that night was the most excitement he got from her since their wedding night. No, he couldn't do this marriage anymore, he would go to her and tell her that it was done, that they made a mistake and they should get it annulled and move on with their lives. She could stay in Charleston and he could go god knows where. He couldn't be married unless it was with Scarlett, and he knew he could not marry Scarlett again.

Scarlett...Abigail's words poked at his conscience, she could see that he was falling in love with Scarlett again. No, that was a lie, he never fell out of love with the green eyed minx. She plagued his thoughts and his dreams. Every memory they had replayed itself over and over again in his mind until it was all he could do to keep from going to her and reclaiming her as his own. No, that couldn't happen. He couldn't be pulled into her web of lies and deceit again. Twelve years of it were enough to wear him down to the point that he couldn't take anymore of it.

He found himself outside of her home, she had bought a small house a few blocks from his, a mere coincidence, Scarlett learned where he lived after moving into her new residence. He knew he could go up the steps and bang on the door until she answered. He knew it would be easy to coax her into a kiss, then he could coax her for more. No, he was living in fantasy and delusion. Scarlett would never have relations with a married man, and he wouldn't do that to Abigail, even if he hated her, he couldn't do that to the gentle creature that reminded him so much of Melanie. He stood outside for a few seconds before continuing on his way. Eventually he found himself at the local saloon. Cards and whiskey would clear his head, or at least help him forget the thoughts that were racing through his brain.

* * *

Scarlett was standing by her window reflecting on her life since her marriage ended. She owned Tara, Suellen wanted to leave the plantation, she couldn't bear the isolation any longer. Scarlett had hired and overseer and former field hands that found freedom to be worse than slavery. Tara was looking back to it's formal glory, acres of cotton were being brought in every season. The pioneer days of fighting with the woods were over, Tara was producing again, and producing plenty. Scarlett couldn't be more proud. Ashley's mills were stable. Scarlett bought enough lumber from them, under a different name, to keep them running for another year or so. She used the lumber to rebuild parts of Tara, the floorboards were replaced and furniture was made to furnish the house and replace many smaller pieces that the Yankees had stolen years before.

Wade and Ella were enjoying school. Ella actually picked up a love of reading that Scarlett concluded must have come from Melly's presence in her life. Wade, outgrow his timidness and was about to be sent on his Grande Tour, Rhett had volunteered to fund the adventure, much to Abigail's annoyance.

Scarlett saw a figure outside of her home that night. Fear struck her heart, suppose the man, it looked like a man, knew she was alone! What would he do? What would she do if he tried to break in and rape her? Fear that hadn't plagued her since those isolated days at Tara now rushed through her veins. The servants were there, but Pork was the only male servant she had, and he was old in his age. She watched the figure look up and moved away from the window, but not before catching his face in the moonlight. Swarthy with a deep complexion. Scarlett could see the shape of his eyes and the way his mouth would turn up to a knowing smile, the light wasn't enough to see this, but she could see it in her minds eye. Rhett, but what was he doing outside? She had half a mind to go down and inquire this herself, but no. It wasn't to be done. She was a woman alone in her home, he was married to another woman, the gossip would be just like in Atlanta, if not worse.

She watched him move on and was astonished to feel a tear trickle down her cheek. She missed him, oh how she missed him. She missed his arms around her, the way he would wrap her raven hair around his throat, the hardness of his body against her. She missed the perplexing thoughts that wracked her brain, how could someone so large and hard be so gentle? She missed his jeering and his quick temper, almost as quick as hers, but only when it concerned Ashley. She missed how she could tell him her problems, and he knew whether to respond or not, and if he did, he knew exactly how to conclude it without causing her unneeded stress. She missed how, when it came to dealing with contractors wanting lumber, he would offer to shadow her, to protect her. Scarlett O'Hara you are a fool! She told herself before flinging her body on the bed and sobbing like a young girl with a broken heart.

* * *

Rhett found himself back at home. Abigail was asleep, so he opted to sleep in the guest room, so not to disturb her. He chuckled at the irony of the situation, now he was willing to sleep in separate beds. Perhaps that would be how he would make it through this marriage. In a separate bed, to escape the entrapment of children. To escape having to preform his marital duties. Wasn't this ironic also? A man not wanting to make love. No, only when it concerned his own wife. How could he, when all he thought about was the black haired green eyed minx, instead of the blue eyes blonde haired woman under him. Separate rooms would be better for them both, he thought. She would think it was because her body was too much for him to stay away from. She knew he didn't want children, he could use it as a scapegoat, a base to build his lie on.

* * *

**A/N: In case anyone was wondering, the title has to do with Lips of an Angel by Hinder, my inspiration for the plot of this story. The lyrics in the beginning of the chapter are from Dublin Sky by Darren Hayes. It was the inspiration for this particular chapter. **

**Guest: This is Rhett Butler we are talking about. He was openly going to Belle's when married to Scarlett, it seems fitting that he would go back to his old ways, even though poor Abigail is caught up in it. **


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: New chapter yay! So I deleted some reviews, and I'm moderating my reviews because I don't think that it's fair to my readers to read flames when they want to review. Constructive Criticism is welcome, however I am fully aware that they are different than the Scarlett/Rhett of MMs story and they are also a bit modern for Charleston. I did add something in this chapter that many people brought up, that Scarlett would be shunned for being a divorcee. In my head, Charleston society knew Rhett and his reputation, so they pitied Scarlett a bit, until they see that maybe it was partially her fault for the divorce. Anyway, enough rationalizing, lets get on with the story!**

* * *

Scarlett found herself becoming more and more isolated in Charleston. At first Charleston felt sorry for the ex wife of Rhett Butler. They were almost willing to put aside their old fashioned ways and embrace the poor girl. Charleston knew all of Rhett's poor reputation. However, the more she was seen in public, the more Charleston grew weary. Then came the affair of Rhett carrying a drunken Scarlett, who had no recollection of this event, to her hotel room! Add that with the rumors that Rhett asked Abigail for a divorce just a few weeks after, and the rumors of Rhett and Abigail in separate rooms. Of course those were just rumors, but it was no secret that Abigail, sweet Abigail who loved everyone, hated Scarlett O'Hara.

Scarlett found herself being ignored. It was like being in Atlanta again. She couldn't go to the Butler's anymore because Abigail herself told Scarlett that she was not welcome in her home anymore. A tight lipped Rhett stood behind his wife, his black eyes showed remorse and regret. For what, Scarlett wasn't sure. She just held her head up and walked brusquely out of the house.

* * *

Rhett made a hasty decision to go on an extended trip. The news wasn't welcomed to Abigail.

"Where are you going?" she had asked.

"London perhaps" he said sounding resigned, "or to California. I miss the excitement."

"Being the scandal of Charleston isn't exciting enough?"

"I've always been causing scandal somewhere Abby" he had recently adopted the nickname for her.

"You only need to ask someone in these boring traditional towns of my history and they can recite it like a book." he shook his head and didn't notice the look of hurt that passed over Abigail's face.

Abigail was the epitome of traditional Charleston. She was raised in the old ways and clung to the teachings of old. Except when it came to letting her husband do as he will. She let it be known that she would not tolerate him being with his ex wife, not while she was still alive. It hurt her that Rhett called Charleston a boring traditional town. Charleston was the place she loved more than anything.

"Charleston is not boring" she mumbled, "There are parties every week, and there is always something going on in the marina, and-"

"Things I've experienced over and over again in the time I've been here. I see now that I was never to remain in Charleston for very long. It simply cannot be done. So I am leaving for a while, once I settle in somewhere, I'll send for you."

"But I don't want to leave Charleston!"

He sighed, it was as if he was speaking to a child, and Abigail was a child. She wanted simplicity, he wanted adventure. He had enough with simplicity, enough with the things he foolishly looked for in this place. He made peace with it, he married Abigail, he pleased his mother, he did everything in life that he had once avoided, now he realized why he avoided it for so many years. He didn't love Abigail, he didn't hate her, as he once thought he might have, but he certainly didn't love her. Although the rumors of them sharing separate rooms were false, he still refused to impregnate her. Doing so would forever trap him in the life that he simply refused to conform to. She wasn't Scarlett, she would give into whatever he wished, she would submit to him, sure she would put a small fight, but nothing to start another war. Although she would submit, she would also have all of Charleston behind her. Scarlett had no one but Melly to back her. Although Melly was more fierce than Sherman when it came to Scarlett, the rest of Atlanta society wasn't behind either of them. They could do nothing right in Atlanta's eyes. Now the tables were flipped for Rhett, in Charleston, Abigail could do no wrong. He wondered how Ashley handled behind married to a saint.

"I won't be discussing this. Come when I send for you, or stay here, it makes no difference to me. There are other beds my dear wife."

She fainted. In all her life she never expected to hear the words that Rhett spoke. Other beds...did he do the same to Scarlett? Did he use other woman against her? The thoughts swirled around the blackness of her mind. She felt herself lying on a warm comfortable bed with a cool towel on her head. As soon as she came to, she looked for him.

"You're awake, good. I have a train to catch." he was gone.

Abigail went to seek the only person who knew her husband, the one that would shed some light on the past he was keeping from her. Scarlett.

* * *

She wrinkled her nose when she walked to Scarlett's house and knocked on the door. She half expected to find Scarlett unclothed with Rhett in her room, using the pretense of leaving town to be in his ex wife's bed. Scarlett was shocked to see Abigail standing outside of her home. She stepped aside to let the girl in.

"Has something happened?" Scarlett asked, masking the emotions that were running rampant in her body.

"Rhett is gone."

"He'll be back. He always leaves for a while, but eventually returns. Did you get into a fight?"

"It was because of you." Abigail spat the words. "You came here and he changed. He wasn't this cavalier, he used to be a gentleman and...why are you laughing?!"

"Rhett, a gentleman, that's a joke." Scarlett tried to catch her breath. "Mrs. Butler, your husband is a great actor. He does what he needs to do to get what he wants."

Abigail frowned, she had wanted to blame Scarlett for everything that was wrong in her marriage.

"I won't deny that my being here is hard for you." Scarlett admitted, if Rhett were there he would be raising a brow at her honesty.

"So why are you here?"

"At first, I came to visit my boy, he's in school here. Then Rhett and I became friends again. It was nice. I guess I too was chasing things of the past." she looked outside to the faint view of the masts out at sea. "I've learned that the past is gone and it's never coming back. My parents are dead, my best friend is dead. The man I thought I loved turned out to be an illusion, and the man that I really love is married, he's already expressed his wish not to be chased as I chased Ashley."

Abigail didn't understand, "You're the pariah of Charleston!" she said without thinking.

"I was the pariah of Atlanta for years." Scarlett only shook her head, "When you're an outcast you'll understand. But you'll never understand, you're the poor wife of Rhett Butler, gambler, womanizer, divorcee. He probably married you to get some reputation back."

Abigail winced at Scarlett's biting words. It was obvious that the woman didn't give a rap what anyone thought about what she said. She spoke as a matron with a sharp tongue.

"Don't wince Abigail, it makes you look weak. Rhett hates a weak wife, that's why he never married someone like Melly until he married someone like me."

"Melly?"

"Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, my sister-in-law." a faint smile formed on Scarlett's lips, "She was an angel. During the war, we were nurses, the wounded called her an Angel of Mercy. I was probably called the Angel of Death." she shrugged a shoulder, "She stood behind me through all that I did and she never tried to change me. Only four people in the world knew who I really was and loved me regardless. My father and Mammy were the other two, they loved me, but they tried to get me to change, to become a lady like mother. Mother...mother would never approve of all that I've done. Marrying Rhett, getting divorced, appearing in public, then the incident about the hotel...I don't even remember that. I don't remember anything from that night after a few waltzes, except that the punch was very strong. Anyway, mother would turn in her grave if she knew, she's probably looking down at me from heaven shaking her head." she sighed.

"So your father, your Mammy, and Melly loved you unconditionally?"

"Well, for the most part. Melly never tried to change me, as I said before, but she didn't know that I was in love with her husband. Maybe if she knew, she would hate me like the rest of Atlanta. Or maybe she did know but could see past it to continue to love me."

"And the fourth?"

"Rhett. He encouraged me. Stood behind me. He would laugh at me, goad me, and enrage me. But he was always behind me in all my misguided attempts to do things. Except when it came to Ashley." she shook her head, "It doesn't matter anymore because he doesn't love me."

Abigail was going to deny it, but denying it would mean giving Scarlett the upper hand. Confirming that Rhett loved Scarlett confirmed an ending of her marriage. Instead Abigail could only lower her head.

"He loved Bonnie more than anything."

"Bonnie?"

"Our daughter. He spoiled her rotten. She had him wrapped around her little fingers since birth. She died trying to jump her pony. Rhett blamed himself, because he taught her how to jump. It broke him."

So that was it. The reason Rhett changed so much from the Rhett she had described before. He was a broken man.

"I should go Miss. O'Hara"

"Call me Scarlett."

"Thank you, but no. See, I couldn't come to friendly terms with the woman that loves my husband." with that Abigail nodded her head and left the house.

Scarlett could only laugh, "Maybe she's more like me than Rhett knows." Scarlett said to herself then shook her head, "She's too much of a lady to be like me."

* * *

**A/N: I know it's weird that Abigail would seek out Scarlett, but she wants to understand Rhett, and Scarlett seems to be the one that understands him the most, even though she really doesn't xD**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: I've been forgetting to put this, I don't own Gone With The Wind, if I did...Rhett and Scarlett would have twenty kids xD**

* * *

A month after Rhett's departure, Scarlett too left. Where to, nobody knew or really cared. She hadn't been someone stand out to many citizens, except for those that knew people in Atlanta and enjoyed the gossip. Abigail was suffering more and more every hour that Rhett was gone, rumors were being spread that he was seen with Scarlett in Atlanta entering a hotel room together, but in the same hour it was changed to Scarlett working in a brothel and Rhett being a client, so that rumor was quickly forgotten. A few souls that were newer to Charleston and recently met Scarlett, were concerned about her sudden disappearance. They wrote letters to Tara, only for them to be answered by Suellen stating that she hadn't heard from her sister since last Christmas.

Scarlett had stopped in Atlanta, only to visit Melly and Bonnie's graves. She was treated as if didn't exist, so she quickly moved on. She ended up in Boston boarding a boat to Ireland, the land of her father. There she could hide her identity. Live behind the O'Hara name and be surrounded with people that were like her Pa. She wondered if they would receive her, but the Irish were so much more welcoming to their own kinfolk than the French, and so long as they never found out about her divorce, she would be fine. No one in America, except for her uncles, knew anyone in Ireland, and her uncles and their wives refused to acknowledge her marriage to Rhett.

She got off the ship when it finally disembarked off the coast of Ireland. It was beautiful, lush green hills as far as the eyes could see. She inhaled the breeze and finally felt at home since she left Tara. She took her bag full of a few dresses and made her way down the docks.

"Where ye headin' miss?" came a gruff voice of a man that came up behind her.

"I'm looking for the O'Hara's" she said, with her head high.

"The O'Haras? Why they be on the farm, a few miles from Dublin, I can take ye miss, for a fee."

She looked at the man, he seemed honest enough, and he smelled like her father.

"How much?"

He gave an amount and she frowned, "I only have greenbacks." she said.

"I'll tell you this missy, let ol' Seamus get you to the O'Hara clan, and you can get Katie Scarlett to serve me some supper."

Scarlett was almost shocked to hear her own name. Her grandmother was still alive?

"O course, it's not as well as her grandma's cookin' but Katie can make a good meal."

Her hopes were crushed, her grandmother was dead, along with everyone else from the days of the past. She only nodded and let the man hoist her into the carriage. He drove for a long time before pulling in front of an old farmhouse.

"This here is the O'Hara home, or what's left o' it."

It was small, none of the glamor or Tara, and far from the mansion that her old home in Atlanta had been. But it was cozy, and it held an air of family. Her heart swelled when she heard the rough Irish accent that so reminded her of Gerald. Even though she loved and worshiped her mother, she had always been her father's "puss".

"Who's there?"

"'Tis Seamus with one of the O'Hara clanswoman." the man called.

A whole flock of family came out, how did they fit in one house? She saw Gerald in all of them. His blue eyes, his stance, his features and body shape. Bits of him were in each of them, and Scarlett felt more at home.

"Welcome to Tara." The oldest matron said.

Scarlett had to fight back a sob. She had heard that Tara was so named after her family's old home, but she thought it had been lost. She knew the stories. She heard how they were thrown off their own land and forced to live in homes given by the British government. Rhett had told her it was done long before her father had been born, and that Irish were known to tell tales as if they lived them.

"Who might you be?" The matron spoke again.

"Katie Scarlett O'Hara. Daughter of Gerald O'Hara and Ellen Robillard." she said, her voice confident.

"Gerald? You be wee Gerald's first born?" the woman asked.

"Yes, who might you be?" Scarlett asked curious.

"I'll be the first Katie Scarlett in Gerald's life." she said, "Your grandma."

* * *

She was in Ireland. Rhett had been traveling for a year when he heard the news. She was in Ireland, she had been for months. She was still using her maiden name and no one in Ireland knew of her story. That amused him. She had also used a large sum of her own money to open a store that got shipments from the same sources as her Atlanta store. Scarlett also bought land and had one of her cousin's running a pub, which was extremely successful. Rhett couldn't help but feel a sense of pride about her. He knew she could do the impossible, but to hear of her bringing the Irish peasants out of poverty was a miracle. She was an angel of Mercy to her family, in a way that she could never be in America. Rhett had to see her.

He didn't forget that he was married. How could he with all of Charleston society writing to him reprimanding him for leaving his young wife for so long. The letters kept him warm at night as they burned in fireplaces of the numerous hotels he was residing in all over Europe. He would go to Ireland, under the cover of wanting to help Scarlett in her plight. He knew it would be hard for her once the government found out. An American owning land and property in a foreign country was considered Illegal in most places. He knew she would run across trouble soon, unless she either became an Irish Citizen, put everything in another name, or had a cunning plan.

He arrived in Ireland in the morning hours one cold rainy day in February. Mardi Gras was soon approaching, and Rhett could see the whole country preparing for Carnival. He didn't give his name when asked if he needed help. He didn't want her to know she was there, he didn't want to encourage her. Rhett was still stuck in his firm determination that he would not be chased by her the same was she chased Ashley Wilkes. The thought of how she would become ecstatic and see him daily trying to win his heart again made his head hurt. Still wary was he about her heart. Scarlett dropped Ashley Wilkes so fast it's a wonder Mr. Wilkes didn't suffer a concussion from the fall from her graces. No, Rhett would not suffer the same fate. She enjoyed the chase, as did he. Only this time, he would keep her at a firm arm's length.

* * *

The day of the Mardi Gras masquerade ball was approaching. Scarlett put a lot of time and money into planning it. The night would be wonderful, and she would definitely be the Belle of the Ball again. Here in this place where the only reputation she had was that of being Gerald O'Hara's eldest daughter. She had the perfect gown made, although Katie Scarlett told her the colors were purple, gold, and green, Scarlett insisted on wearing an emerald green gown. Her mask was to be gold and the purple was incorporated in the Theatre Makeup she was to be wearing around her eyes. While experimenting with her eyes, she found that the purple made them shine greener than the dress did. Although the dress would darken her eyes to emerald. She only wished that Rhett could be there to see how pretty she looked, surely he would fall in love with her again.

He was at the party. A simple mask hid his face, but any Irish man could see that the stranger was not one of them. He was staying with an old acquaintance in Dublin, this acquaintance was who wrote him about seeing Scarlett. He had heard of the ball that was going on in the city being thrown by a young Irish America, he knew that was the party Rhett would want to attend.

"You stand out Butler." he said.

"I am aware Seamus, but I cannot hide the fact that I am not Irish." he whispered.

Rhett was adorned in a green tuxedo made especially for the Carnival Ball. He was having a drink of Irish Whiskey, the same brand that Gerald O'Hara enjoyed, when he heard the collective gasp of the females at the ball. The girls all looked pretty in their purple, gold, or green frocks. Even the oldest matrons adorned the colours for the celebration. However none of them looked as pretty as the goddess that entered the room. She had an air about her, and her face was too soft to be Irish, except for her chin, which was turned up slightly. Her head was held high and her large ballgown caused many to have to move to the side so she could pass. She glided in the dress, which looked as if it was much heavier than she would be accustomed to. She had an air of elegance around her. Usually she was not looked at as beautiful. At least not by other females. Usually the sharp contrasts in her face and the determined set of her mouth made it hard to see the beauty that she truly was, unless she was dressed in a way that was meant to show off her best features.

Her dress was cut in such a way that showed off her tiny waist. The overly large skirt did more to make the sixteen inches look much smaller. Although hoops were long since out in the fashion sense, ball gowns were always in season, no more than during Masquerade balls. Her feet were in tiny slippers that matched her dress perfectly. The masque on her face hid her features entirely. Starting from her forehead it made it's way down to her cheekbones. The sides of the masque stuck out passed the width of her face almost like wings. It's golden colour sparkled in the light of the chandelier. The gold headpiece was simple, but elegant. It connected to the front of the masque with a simple jewel that hung down between her brows. There was one thing that stood out on her, even more than the dress, masque, and headpiece. It was her eyes. Emerald because of the dark green dress and accentuated by the purple theatre makeup. Her eyes caused a hush to fall over the hall. Her eyes finished her ensemble. Like a Celtic goddess returning from the beyond to save her people from destruction, Scarlett O'Hara entered the room.

Rhett felt his breath catch when he saw her enter. At first he believed her to be one of the Irish maidens, so beautiful with a fire that burned in them and a passion for the land that plantation owners didn't understand, except for Gerald O'Hara of course. He was embarrassed to admit that his heart skipped a beat when she swept in. Everything about her enticed him, he wanted her. But, how could that be? How could he want another? Even if he denied it, he knew that he loved Scarlett, even years after divorcing and remarrying someone else. How could this other woman make him forget Scarlett for even a moment? Especially when she ran through his thoughts ever second of the day. The time he was traveling, he had bedded many other women. Always those that looked different than her, if he was with one that had even the similar nose shape as Scarlett, he couldn't control himself. He would find himself sending the girl away and drinking himself to a stupor only to have to nurse a raging headache the next morning, and well into the night.

Her eyes swept the room, captivating everyone who looked her way. The same color as the Emerald Isle. Whispers of her beauty were flying across the room at record speed. Who was she? Would someone dare ask her to remove her masque so they may all indulge in the true identity of the otherworldly beauty before them? Her eyes turned to the stranger in the room. Tall, swarthy, dark haired, black eyed. Hers eyes went wide and her mouth unhinged and hung open unattractively. His features twisted into a smirk and he bowed low. Her eyes, he recognized those eyes anywhere. Hadn't he spent hours studying her eyes? Gazing into them from across the room while they dropped from exhaustion from going over figures. He watched how they could change from narrow slits to wide saucers. Over the years he watched those eyes show anger, hate, love, lust, longing, sadness, bitterness, and loss. He watched the way she looked at him in the early years of their marriage, excited, free, happy. In the middle, angry, tired, bitter, lost. And at the end, hurt, yet full of love. He crossed the room.

"Miss O'Hara." he said sweeping another elegant bow. She recognized his voice instantly.

"Mr. Butler, it seems we meet again." she said, keeping her voice light, "we must stop meeting at parties."

She looked at him, studied him. For a second she forgot that he was married. She forgot that he divorced her, forgot that he didn't love her. For a second he was her husband and they were exchanging pleasantries. For a second her life was perfect. Then he took her hand in his. She had forgotten about the ring. She decided to wear it because it matched her dress so perfectly, now she wondered what he would think. It came crashing back on her, she shouldn't be wearing the gaudy engagement ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. It looked pretty with the dress, and it didn't look right on any other finger, so she slipped it on. Now her cheeks colored and she pulled her hand out of his, she started playing with it unconsciously, keeping his attention on it.

"What a beautiful ring, who gave it to you?" he asked, the familiar jeer in his voice.

"An old friend." she whispered, still mortified.

"Why the embarrassment Scarlett?" he asked curiously.

"I should have returned it." she whispered, trying to keep her voice low.

"It was made for you, no one else would want it." he said, also lowering his voice when someone passed behind him.

"But I shouldn't be wearing it." she said.

"Why not? It matches your dress perfectly. Perhaps if it was on another finger folks wouldn't believe it was once used to announce an engagement."

Her cheeks flushed "Hush, keep your voice down! My family doesn't know about..."

"Ah, I see." Rhett couldn't explain why her words cut through him. In America he was her ex husband, in Ireland, their marriage didn't exist, Bonnie didn't exist. He didn't know how his thoughts went of her, or why it angered him knowing that her own blood didn't know of her, didn't know her beauty and childlike wonder, didn't mourn the child buried six feet underground in Atlanta.

"I just want to start over." her words shook him out of his thoughts.

"Then I'll leave you at it. Good evening Miss O'Hara, it was a pleasure to see you again."

"Rhett wait."

"Scarlett, I have neither the time nor the patients to play your games anymore." he said sounding exhausted.

"What game am I playing tonight Rhett?" she asked.

"You want to start over, our marriage didn't exist, our engagement didn't exist, I'm assuming our friendship didn't exist. Bonnie sure as hell didn't exist."

"Don't curse." she mumbled.

"I'll curse all I wish. I'll be damned if I am going to allow you to tell me what I shall and shall not say."

"Let's go outside, you are causing a scene." she took his arm and pulled him towards the door.

Her heart hurt. It was supposed to be a happy day. A party for Mardi Gras. She was going to dance and have fun. When she saw Rhett she was happy, it was fun dancing with him after all, then he had to go and ruin it again. He had to bring up Bonnie again.

"She did exist" she said when they got outside.

"Excuse me?"

"Bonnie, she did...does exist."

"They don't know about her."

"Well no...if I told them about her I would have to tell them about you, then I'd have to explain why I am not with my loving and caring husband." she told him, her voice sarcastic at the end.

"And you'd be shunned."

"You don't understand how hard it is Rhett." she muttered.

"No, I don't understand how it's like to have all of polite society hate you." he smirked.

"Be serious Rhett! Not only does polite society hate me, but the Scallawags and Yankees are shunning me too. But here, here they don't know about my past, they don't know all the bad things I've done to survive!"

"So pinning after a married man was something you did to survive?"

"You are never going to forgive me for that are you Captain Butler?" she snapped. "I was fifteen when I thought I was in love with him. He was comfortable, he was someone that I had known my whole life. We grew up together, he was my past!" she was almost yelling, tears streamed down her face. "I didn't realize until Melly died that I didn't love him."

"You went to him, when she died, you went straight to him."

"His wife was dying. My best friend was dying. When you jumped to conclusions and left, I realized that I never really loved him. He's weak, Melly was the pillar that held him up, Melly was the strong one."

"I had been telling you that for years."

"I thought you were jealous of him..."

"Of course I was jealous of him Scarlett, he had everything that I wanted and he didn't even have to work for it. Of course I had money and possessions, but he had the love of the only woman I love."

"You still love me?" her eyes snapped to his face.

"Loved. I meant to say loved."

"You love me, you love me..." she realized she was repeating it the same way she had done with Ashley in the Orchard behind Tara.

"Scarlett stop, I am married now."

"You could divorce her, be with me and-" he cut her off.

"My God woman are you that heartless. Divorce Abigail and subject her to the social ruin that you and I endure? Leave the wife I was lucky to get? I don't deserve her, Scarlett, I deserve you. For all that I've done I deserve to endure your pinning and your false love."

"It's not false..."

"The hell it isn't, you practically admitted it yourself Scarlett, you realized he was weak and then what? You remembered how strong your own husband was? You remembered that, although you can stand on your own, you used me as a crutch when you reached your lowest point? You remembered that there was another man foolish enough to fall for your charm so you turned your affections to him? My pet, you only love what you cannot have. No, I won't leave Abigail to be with you, even if I do love you, which I am not denying anymore, it's too much work to keep lying to you and myself. I love you Scarlett, and I want you more than I've wanted another woman, but I will not subject my heart to that abuse anymore. I may be a man, but I do have a heart and it's been mangled by you."

His harsh words cut her. Even the beauty of hearing that he still loved her, something she had wanted to hear for years, ever since she realized her love for him, was tainted by his harshness. He was right. She felt the tears in her eyes and she looked down to hide them. She watched him take a step towards her. She felt him lift her chin softly and dab at her eyes with a handkerchief.

"You should go inside, before someone misses you." he said, "Also, put the property under your full name. That was when the government sticks their noses in, you can truthfully say that they are in your grandmother's name, or your cousin's, if she is still an O'Hara. A foreigner cannot own land in certain countries, not without being a citizen. I'm not sure if Ireland follows those regulations, but if it does, no amount of money will help save you from losing them. If they ask for a birth date or other information other than your name, use your grandmother's." he told her, "I'm leaving back to Charleston in the morning. I won't see you, you'll make it harder to leave. Don't cry or your family will hunt me down for hurting their saint. You won't hear from me again, please grant me the same. If I hear from you, I won't be able to finish living out my life peacefully with my wife in my one sided marriage, grant me this one last time." with that he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

She responded, locking her arms around his neck. She kissed him with all the passion she had in her, begging with her lips for him to stay, for him to leave his wife and be with her, for him to take her. He pulled back.

"Now I understand." he said, pressing a fabric into her hands, and walked away, leaving her silently weeping and questioning his parting words.

She watched him leave, knowing she would probably never see him again. After his silhouette blended into the night, she stood rooted in the spot, the tears eventually drying on her cheeks. She willed him to turn around and run back to her. She willed it, but it never came.

"Scarlett, come inside child, who was that?" Katie Scarlett asked.

"No one Grandmother, just the man I love." she said.

* * *

**A/N: Yes Rhett was rough, but I feel like it had to happen. It took me forever to write this chapter. **


	6. Chapter 5

They were gone. All the women in Rhett's life that he respected or loved were gone. One by one they seemed to vanish into the night as they years passed. For two years Rhett lived through his own personal hell, one he helped create. First was his mother. Her age was catching up to her and a fall found her confined to bed. Rhett tried to visit her at least once a week, and she seemed content. She was surrounded by her family the night she slipped into eternal sleep. Mrs. Butler was buried two weeks after her passing in a confederate cemetery in Charleston. He had hoped to bury her in the family cemetery by his old home, the home she governed and loved, but it was impossible. She was instead buried in the family mausoleum along side her husband. His sister, Rosemary, left to California with her husband of a year. She didn't write often, too busy trying to settle into life in the wild western frontier. Though it had been thirty years since the first settlers arrived on the Oregon Trail, life was still difficult so far from modern civilization. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad a few years prior was proving to make some things much easier, supplies could be shipped faster to the pioneers, although Mail was still the last thing on anyone's minds.

Belle was in Atlanta, and Rhett vowed to himself never to set foot into the bustling town again. Although Bonnie was still there, he couldn't bring himself to go anymore. Atlanta held nothing for him and not even Belle's embrace could entice him to enter even the state of Georgia. Belle was old and years of her questionable lifestyle were taking their toll on her body. Mrs. Wilkes was long gone and Scarlett...Rhett had pushed her away. He had only seen her once, on the day that Wade Hamilton graduated his studies and went off to his Tour. She had come to invite Rhett and Abigail to the dinner she was having for the boy, only because Rhett was such a prominent influence in the boy's childhood and upbringing. Rhett had accepted and they enjoyed pleasant conversation, then she was gone. Back to Ireland to continue her business of bringing the O'Hara's the their former glory and beyond.

He had even lost Abigail. She had gotten pregnant after Rhett had returned from his travels. She miscarried and was left weak ever since. All doctors advised her from having children, and she took their advice, until seeing how Rhett was with Scarlett's son and daughter, who was also at the dinner for her older brother. She saw the look of adoration in the children's eyes and heard the way Rhett spoke to them, as if they were the most important people in the room instead of his ex stepchildren. He could see the respect emitting from Wade and could see how the young man carried himself around Rhett. He looked like a wriggling puppy when Rhett had given him a watch to commemorate the graduation. Abigail, at that moment, longed for her own children that Rhett could coddle and spoil rotten. She had gotten pregnant again the following March, which had caused Rhett a great deal of worry. Her remembered Melanie on her death bed and feared the worse. His fears were confirmed a hot September day when she suddenly complained of pains after only six months of pregnancy. Her first miscarriage was within her first two months of carrying the unborn child. She screamed well into the night and finally fell silent. There was no cry from a child, not even following a sharp slap on it's bottom. Then the screaming started again. Rhett paced frantically remembering when Scarlett hung on the edge of death. He was reliving the memories and the alcohol was making it worse. Finally the doctor walked out with his head hanging and informed Rhett that, after doing everything he could, both mother and child had left this world.

Rhett could be seen haunting the streets of Charleston late at night, drunk beyond compare. Anyone from Atlanta could tell them that the last time he had gotten bad was when Bonnie died. Somehow word got back to Scarlett and she was in Charleston within a few weeks of receiving the letter, which was months after Abigail died, although Rhett didn't seem to be getting any better. Not caring about the prying eyes of the town, she was seen banging away at his door in the middle of the day. He answered, looked shocked, and stepped aside to let her in. No one except for the two knew what happened in that house that day, but later that evening when Scarlett emerged, Rhett was sober and she left for Ireland the next morning, he left Charleston a week later.

* * *

The day that Scarlett got the letter, she was sitting in her office at the store looking over ledgers for all her property. The figures were in a snarl and she was working hard to untangle them, only to find out that one of her foremen at the mills that she now owned was stealing money from her. She would have to deal with it tomorrow, at the moment she was too exhausted to talk to cheating scoundrels. Sara, the small girl that worked as her personal assistant, at the request of her grandmother, walked into the office timidly with a letter.

Scarlett,

When you asked me to accept your mail for you from Tara, I didn't know that so much would be coming. It seems something has happened to Captain Butler's wife, or rather, late wife. I don't know how long it's been since this happened, because they first go to Tara and Dilcey sends them to me, but I know that it was not good. It seems she has died and Captain Butler is in distress. I have written back, saying that I don't understand why it's any of your business what happens to the cad, but I would get the message to you, since I now know where to write. I know this will take a long time to reach you and by the time you get it, Mrs. Butler would have been in the grave for months if not a year. It has now been two months since her death. Please write to the Charlestonian busybodies and tell them to leave me alone.

Love, you're sister,

Suellen

Scarlett looked at the date, it was dated almost eight months prior. Oh, she didn't understand why it took so long to get mail from the States, especially if it wasn't posted as urgent. She sighed and checked the time, it was too late to do anything about it now, she would add it to the things she would have to do tomorrow. She didn't understand why she cared, but she did. Ever since Rhett left her the second time, she comforted herself in knowing that somewhere in America was a man that loved her, even if he was married to another. Many men tried to court her and propose, but she kept them at bay with words of enjoying her work, or being too busy for marriage, or simply that she didn't want to be married after two marriages. Well, the two that they knew about anyway. Only Katie Scarlett O'Hara Senior knew the truth, it had come out on Bonnie's birthday when Katie Scarlett found her granddaughter crying in her bedroom. It took much questioning, but the girl eventually broke and told the old woman everything. She expected her grandmother to turn her out of her home, but the old woman simply nodded and left it alone.

The next morning, Scarlett packed her belongings and paid for someone to take her to the docks. She managed to secure passage on a ship that was heading to Charleston that very morning. It was odd, because most docked in Boston, but Scarlett soon learned that the Captain was delivering goods from Charleston and it was more convenient and cheaper to go straight to the source. The ship made good time and she was there in a little over two weeks. She went straight to his home, not caring the time of day or the fact that her dress was wrinkled from traveling. She sent her baggage to the house that she still owned and marched straight to Rhett Butler's door.

It took a few minutes of hitting the door so hard that she was sure that her knuckles were going to bruise until the heavy door was thrown open.

"What?!" he snapped, he reeked of whiskey and cigar, the smell causing her to gag. "Scarlett?" he looked shocked when he recognized her, then he moved to the side to allow her in.

"I heard" she told him bluntly.

"Gossip travels faster than I thought, although it's been ten months since they passed."

She only nodded, "Retreating back to the alcohol Captain Butler?" she crossed her arms.

"It's a companion that won't leave."

"Who else?" she inquired, curious.

"My mother, my sister, Belle..." he ticked them off, "My mother passed, Rosemary is in California, and Belle...she doesn't hold her same...er...appeal"

Scarlett blushed a bit, catching his meaning. "So you are going to take the cowardly way again?" she asked raising a brown.

"Am I going to drink myself to death you mean? Of course, there is nothing else for me to live for, I'd hang myself, but that's too quick for me, I'd rather feel the slow death of drinking to my demise."

"There's me." she whispered.

"There is you, I suppose that's an even painful death." there was a slight glint of mischief in his eyes.

"That isn't what I meant" she snapped before catching that he was teasing. She rolled her eyes and hid the smile that was forming on her lips, "Come back to Ireland."

"And live on my ex wife's charity? No thank you."

"Then live with your wife."

"Are you proposing Scarlett? You're just as bad as I was."

She blushed deeply. "What I meant was...we could start over there."

"Scarlett there is too much history between us."

"You said you still loved me, is that a lie now?"

"No." he admitted. "No, I still love me, and it is my misfortune, Scarlett I can't just go to Ireland and have another adventure with you, I just can't."

She sighed and nodded, "Then I should leave, I've come in vain." she turned towards the door but stopped when she felt his hard hand on her arm, "Rhett -" She never got to finish.

He pulled her towards him hard, his lips crushed down on hers hungrily. Her own parted, her fingers tangled in his hair and a soft sigh erupted from her lips when he pulled her closer. His hard body was against hers, and, even under layers of cloth, she could enjoy feeling him pressed against her. It was as if the passed decade didn't happen. As if they were newlyweds again as if they were friends and lovers again.

"Come back with me." she whispered when his lips left hers minutes later, her breath was heavy and her voice breathy. She was vaguely aware that he had managed to open a few of the top buttons in the back of her dress.

He sighed and pushed her away, "No Scarlett."

"Why?" she almost whined.

"Because I am not doing this again. I am not going to subject myself to you again. I can't take much more."

"But I love you." she blurted.

"You're still clinging to that illusion."

"It is not an illusion Rhett Butler. I don't know how to prove that to you. I let you have your divorce, I left for Ireland, I left you alone and didn't chase you. Isn't that what you wanted, me to leave you alone?" her voice was full of tears.

"I don't know what I want anymore Scarlett." he sounded resigned.

"We belong together Rhett...Scallawags, Rascals the both of us are. No better than the Yankees and Carpetbaggers. No better than Orangemen."

His lips were on hers again. It was short, but it left her breathless.

"Will you stop trying to distract me!" she snapped.

"Am I distracting to you?" he jeered.

"Well when you, you..." her blush returned.

"When I kiss you like that." he openly laughed, "Scarlett you are so endearing, you still need kissing badly, you should be kissed daily and by someone who knows how."

"So you're making up for the years?" she jeered back.

* * *

He watched her, as she spoke. He watched her eyes get full of anger at some of his words, and mirth at others. He watched the hope return and retreat depending on how the conversation was going. A few times he saw the love in her eyes. Those were the times when he couldn't contain himself. He couldn't stop his lips from merging with hers. She was willing enough, more than willing. With her kisses she was begging. Begging him to return to her. Her embrace was what he had craved for what felt like centuries. They played the same game for hours, she tried to convince him, he kept her at bay, then they kissed and back to the start. While watching, he noticed something about her eyes, they had never filled with that amount of love for Ashley Wilkes. He made up his mind.

"I'll return with you." he said breaking into another tirade about them being together.

"You...you will?" she asked, glancing at the clock, it had taken her all afternoon to convince him.

"I will. In a weeks time, I'll leave for Ireland."

* * *

She waited at the docks on the day he was supposed to arrive. Upon seeing him, she couldn't help but smile widely. He looked like a pirate. His hair was groomed and his clothes tailored to perfection. His eyes sought hers out and he bent into a sweeping bow, she laughed and curtsied back. He loped gracefully to her and pulled her into his arms to twirl her around.

"Hello again, Mrs. Butler."

Her eyes went wide, "You mean."

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small box containing a small emerald ring, "I thought a smaller one would be more appropriate this time, a change."

"A change" she whispered and led him to the carriage where her cousin was waiting to drive home.

"Riley, this is Captain Rhett Butler, my fiance from America" she said.

"Welcome to the Emerald Isle Captain Butler." the boy said and clucked to the horses to pull the carriage.

* * *

Rhett and Scarlett were married within a month. They both remained in Ireland for a few months, but when Scarlett became pregnant, they both decided to return to Tara. They had their share of fights, but Rhett never regretted remarrying the Jewel of the Emerald Isle, as he had taken to calling her.

* * *

**A/N: phew it's done! Sorry for the rushed ending, but this story has been a thorn in my side, plus I was running out of ideas. By the way, the "you're" in Suellen's letter was intentional. **


End file.
